H.R. Smith

Manufacturers of airborne antennas since 1966

The H.R. Smith Group has been in existence since 1966. A family-owned, private limited company based in Herefordshire, U.K., and employing 220 people, it has for many years supplied antennas for aircraft such as Hawk, Harrier, NH 90, Gripen, BAe 146, Dash 8 Q400, Superjet 100 and many others. All types of aircraft antennas are manufactured here — including communication antennas, navigation antennas and data antennas — and are suitable for use on both commercial and military aircraft.

Techtest Limited, one of four member companies, was formed in 1978 as a response to an urgent customer need for accurate, reliable and, above all, portable instruments for testing aircraft antennas in place. From these beginnings in the field of testing, Techtest Limited has expanded its product line of sophisticated test instrumentation and moved into the field of search and rescue products. Techtest Limited has become the only company in the world to manufacture all types of aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) and the homing systems used on search and rescue helicopters. This includes such equipment as lightweight, low-cost homing systems, which offer a range of options for varying platforms, including homing and decoding of the 406 MHz distress frequency.

"Techtest Limited has become the only company in the world to manufacture all types of aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) and the homing systems used on search and rescue helicopters"

The need for individual safety requirements are met by the range of Personal Locator Beacons (PLB). The Series 500 PLBs are compact, lightweight units that offer a wide selection of frequency and speech options. The company pioneered the use of Location Protocol Beacons, which incorporate GPS cards into the beacons, allowing location times to be minimized.

Techtest produces fully-approved ELTs incorporating the 406MHz COSPAS/SARSAT frequency, which are designed to meet all airborne applications. They have been fitted on all types of aircraft, including helicopters, commercial airliners and fast jets. The company also pioneered the use of the 406 MHz distress frequency on deployable ELTs for maritime aircraft and is now the main supplier to the offshore industry.

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